NASA Flight Test Readiness Review Concludes, Teleconference to Follow

Mission managers with NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance gather on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete a Flight Test Readiness Review for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Chambers

NASA concluded its Flight Test Readiness Review for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test and teams are proceeding toward a planned launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, to the International Space Station. The mission will transport NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the space station of the first flight with crew to certify the Starliner and its system for regular crew rotation missions. 

At 4:30 p.m., NASA will host a media teleconference (no less than one hour following completion of the readiness review) with the following participants:  

  • Jim Free, NASA associate administrator 
  • Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate 
  • Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 
  • Dana Weigel, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program 
  • Mark Nappi, vice president and manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program
  • Emily Nelson, NASA chief flight director

The media teleconference will air live on the agency’s website. 

Next up is a mission dress rehearsal on Friday, April 26, for NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance). Wilmore and Williams, commander and pilot, will mimic launch day operations. The astronauts load in their spacesuits, walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, and get into Boeing’s Astrovan to travel to the spacecraft. Teams will practice countdown scenarios, prep Starliner’s crew module for flight, close the hatch, and conduct readiness polls of managers and engineers. 

Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner on an Atlas V rocket. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. 

After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit. 

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook. 

Cosmonauts Complete Spacewalk to Install Hardware, Science

Spacewalkers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai are pictured shortly after their spacewalk began on Thursday, April 25, 2024, for hardware and science installation work. Credit: NASA TV
Spacewalkers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai are pictured shortly after their spacewalk began on Thursday, April 25, 2024, for hardware and science installation work. Credit: NASA TV

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub concluded their spacewalk April 25 at 3:33 p.m. EDT after four hours and 36 minutes.

Kononenko and Chub completed their major objectives, which included completing the deployment of one panel on a synthetic radar communications system on the Russian segment of the complex and installing equipment and experiments to analyze the level of corrosion on station surfaces and modules.

This was the seventh spacewalk in Kononenko’s career, and the second for Chub. It is the 270th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Dreams Become Reality for NASA’s Boeing Flight Test Crew

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams hug after arriving at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Stevens

Momentum is building for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test launch, scheduled for Monday, May 6, 2024.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived in a T-38 jet April 25 at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a short flight from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA leaders welcomed Wilmore and Williams and held a short news conference.

“Our hearts and souls are in this spacecraft and a little part of us will be lifting off with Butch and Suni,” said NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Deputy Manager Dana Hutcherson, who has been with the program for 13 years.

Wilmore and Williams are targeting 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, for launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This will be the first crewed flight of Starliner for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Click below to watch the earlier broadcast of the welcome ceremony.

NASA, Boeing Crew Lands in Florida for Starliner Mission

NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test Crew Butch Wilmore (left), and Suni Williams (right) arrive in Florida on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams landed April 25, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a short flight from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Paying homage to their piloting days as retired U.S. Navy captains, they flew to Kennedy in a T-38 jet. 

As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch aboard the company’s Starliner spacecraft on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station. 

Shortly after 1 p.m. EDT, NASA leaders will hold a brief welcome ceremony with the following participants:

  • Jennifer Kunz, associate director, NASA Kennedy 
  • Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 
  • NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore 
  • NASA astronaut Suni Williams

The welcome ceremony will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.  

Meanwhile, NASA, Boeing, and ULA representatives are participating in the agency’s Flight Test Readiness Review at NASA Kennedy. The two-day event, which is scheduled to conclude April 25, verifies the mission readiness, including all systems, facilities, and teams that will support the launch.  

Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. 

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook. 

Dragon Undocking Targeted for No Earlier Than Sunday

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft docked to the International Space Station's Harmony module at 7:19 a.m. EDT Saturday, March 23, 2024. Credit: NASA TV
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 7:19 a.m. EDT Saturday, March 23, 2024. Credit: NASA TV

Due to unfavorable weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida, NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 28, for the undocking of the Dragon spacecraft from the space-facing port of the International Space Station as part of company’s 30th commercial resupply services mission for the agency.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Cosmonauts Begin Spacewalk for Hardware, Science Work

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (left) and Nikolai Chub (right) are pictured during a spacewalk on Oct.25, 2023, working on the Nauka science module.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (left) and Nikolai Chub (right) are pictured during a spacewalk on Oct.25, 2023, working on the Nauka science module.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub began a spacewalk at 10:57 a.m. EDT to complete the deployment of one panel on a synthetic radar communications system on the Russian segment of the complex and install equipment and experiments to analyze the level of corrosion on station surfaces and modules.

NASA’s coverage will continue on NASA+, NASA Television, YouTube, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Kononenko is wearing an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Chub is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the seventh spacewalk in Kononenko’s career, and the second for Chub. It is the 270th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Roscosmos Spacewalkers Exiting Station Soon Live on NASA TV

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (left) and Nikolai Chub (right) are pictured during a spacewalk on Oct.25, 2023, to install and inspect hardware.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (left) and Nikolai Chub (right) are pictured during a spacewalk on Oct.25, 2023, to install and inspect hardware.

NASA Television coverage is underway for today’s spacewalk with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub. The duo will venture outside the station’s Poisk airlock to complete the deployment of one panel on a synthetic radar system on the Nauka module and install equipment and experiments on the Poisk module to analyze the level of corrosion on station surfaces and modules.

NASA’s coverage is on NASA+, NASA Television, YouTube, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Kononenko and Chub will exit at about 10:55 a.m. EDT. Kononenko is wearing the Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Chub is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the seventh spacewalk in Kononenko’s career, and the second for Chub. It is the 270th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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NASA, Boeing Crew Fly Jet to Florida for Starliner Launch

Photo of NASA, Boeing Crew Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams
Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in T-38 pre-flight activities at Ellington Field on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

The two NASA astronauts that will fly aboard a new spacecraft for the first time to the International Space Station are on their way on Thursday to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final launch preparations. 

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are targeting 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, for launch of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. 

As retired U.S. Navy captains, Wilmore and Williams are flying on a T-38 jet from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for the short flight to Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility. 

At 1 p.m., NASA will host a crew arrival event at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the following participants:

  • Jennifer Kunz, associate director, NASA Kennedy 
  • Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 
  • NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore 
  • NASA astronaut Suni Williams

The arrival will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. 

Following launch, the astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. 

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

Spacewalkers Get Ready as Crew Packs Dragon with Science

Astronaut Matthew Dominick (center) poses with cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (left) and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub (right) while preparing Orlan spacesuits for a spacewalk.
Astronaut Matthew Dominick (center) poses with cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (left) and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub (right) while preparing Orlan spacesuits for a spacewalk.

The Expedition 71 crew is getting ready for a spacewalk on Thursday while finishing payload operations inside a U.S. cargo craft before its return to Earth. The International Space Station residents also investigated antibiotic resistance and participated in a cardiorespiratory study on Wednesday.

Two cosmonauts will exit the orbital outpost’s Poisk airlock at 10:55 a.m. EDT on Thursday for a planned seven-hour spacewalk. Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub will work outside in the vacuum of space to install hardware and science experiments on the station’s Roscosmos segment. The duo from Roscosmos spent Wednesday finalizing their procedure reviews and completing checks and component installations on their Russian Orlan spacesuits.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin joined his cosmonaut crewmates for the procedure reviews and installed radiation detectors on the duo’s spacesuits. Grebenkin will be on duty Thursday helping Kononenko and Chub in and out of their Orlan spacesuits and monitoring them while they work outside the space station.

Watch the year’s first spacewalk live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app beginning at 10:30 a.m. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Meanwhile, in the opposite side of the station, the astronauts are packing the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with completed experiments and their research samples for return and analysis back on Earth. NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick removed science freezers containing the critical science from inside the station and transferred them to Dragon for stowage. NASA Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps assisted with the experiment loading and prepared more research hardware that will soon carry biology samples back to the planet.

Earlier, Dyson pedaled on an exercise cycle while attached to sensors measuring how heart activity and breathing in microgravity affects a crew member’s blood pressure. After Dominick wrapped up his cargo activities, he serviced cardiac tissue samples printed inside the BioFabrication Facility and loaded them inside a MERLIN research incubator.

Barratt and Epps spent half the day exploring why microbes are more resistant to antibiotics in space. Barratt worked in the Kibo laboratory module processing bacteria samples in the Life Science Glovebox. Epps selected some of those bacteria colonies then moved into the Harmony module and extracted DNA from the samples for genomic analysis. Results may help researchers understand how bacteria adapts to weightlessness and develop ways to protect space crews and humans on Earth.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Crew Packs Dragon, Works Neuroscience, and Preps for Spacewalk

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Tracy C. Dyson both pose for a fun portrait as Dominick tests portable breathing gear.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Tracy C. Dyson both pose for a fun portrait as Dominick tests portable breathing gear.

Payload operations are underway aboard the International Space Station as a U.S. cargo craft prepares for its return to Earth at the end of the week. Meanwhile, the Expedition 71 crew continued researching neuroscience and getting ready for the year’s first spacewalk.

The four NASA astronauts in the orbital outpost’s U.S. segment spent the first half of their day packing the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with science cargo for analysis back on Earth. Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick started the day removing research samples from station science freezers and carefully placing them inside Dragon science freezers. Afterward, Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps ensured cargo already packed inside Dragon was properly strapped and secured for the flight back to Earth. Dragon is due to undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on April 26, weather dependent, and splash down off the coast of Florida the following day.

Afterward, Barratt worked in the Destiny laboratory module and set up a fluorescence microscope then joined Epps and Dominick swapping brain organoid samples inside the optical device. Scientists on the ground remotely operated the specialized microscope viewing the samples to observe the effects of a drug therapy on the brain organoid cultures. Researchers will use the results to study ways protect an astronaut’s central nervous system in microgravity as well as prevent and treat neurological conditions on Earth.

Dyson serviced components and cleaned hardware inside the BioFabrication Facility located in the Columbus laboratory module. The 3D biological printer is being tested for its ability to print organ-like tissues in microgravity potentially enabling space crews to print meals or medicines and allowing doctors to manufacture organs for patients on Earth. Dyson then had her eyes checked as Dominick operated medical imaging gear to view her cornea, retina, and optic nerve.

The next spacewalk at the space station is scheduled for Thursday, April 25. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will exit the Poisk airlock and spend about seven hours configuring hardware and installing experiments on the Roscosmos segment of the space station. The duo spent most of Tuesday reviewing their spacewalk procedures and collecting tools planned for the excursion. The two cosmonauts began the day attaching sensors to themselves measuring their heart activity for a long-running Roscosmos cardiac study.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin joined his cosmonaut crewmates for the spacewalk procedure reviews on Thursday. He will help the duo in and out of their Orlan spacesuits and monitor the spacewalkers while they work outside the space station.

At the end of the day, Grebenkin joined Dominick, Barratt, and Epps, his SpaceX Dragon Endeavour crewmates, and checked out their Dragon pressure suits and communication systems. The quartet earlier tested a garment that may help crews adjust quicker to the effects of gravity after returning to Earth.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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